J.C. PENNEY didn’t fare too well in the court – make that the courts – of public opinion yesterday.

Basketball players at the legendary West Fourth Street courts trash-talked the Plano, Texas-based retailer a day after it decided to pull from its shelves an in-your-face line ofT-shirts on the grounds that they offended some customers.

The shirts, by an apparel company called AND1, bear urban b-ball taunts such as “Your game is ugly … and so is your girl” or “You need a bra … your game’s saggin.'”

Maybe J.C. Penney should rename itself P.C. Penney. Or, as they say on West Fourth Street, your mama’s so dumb, she thinks Johnny Cash is a pay toilet.

“I have a bunch of AND1 shirts at home and I don’t think they’re offensive,” said Arthur Holly, watching the heat-addled action at the courts yesterday. “It’s just trash-talking. No big deal.”

Big deal, said a spokesman for P.C. Penney.

“Our customers felt it wasn’t appropriate to carry that merchandise,” the spokesman said.

Watch out whenever someone in Texas tells you something is “inappropriate.” If the bosses at P.C. Penney are offended by shirts such as “You like that move? So does your girl,” they obviously don’t get out of Plano, Texas, that much.

Walking around Sunstroke City yesterday, that much was clear. After all, you can’t swing a dead cat in this town without hitting a T-shirt that not only offends someone, but was designed primarily to offend someone.

Residents of Barbados, the Bahamas and any number of Caribbean islands will no doubt be angered by the shirt worn by Nikos Farrell yesterday at the Manhattan Mall. The shirt depicts a resident of Trinidad and Tobago with what appears to be a huge banana between his legs. A woman next to him marvels at the size of his fruit and says, “Wow, that’s a big banana.”

The implication, apparently, is not merely that the potassium-rich fruit is a very popular snack in Trinidad.

“Some people would probably be offended, but there’s nothing wrong with it,” Farrell, 15, said. “And besides, you can’t be offended, because it’s true.”

And thank goodness St. Marks Place isn’t part of some P.C. Penney mall – otherwise, where would you go to see the latest in offensive outerwear?

“Drunk?” asks one shirt hanging in the window of the New Village T-shirt shop. “Free Breathalyzer Test. Blow Here.” An arrow directs the inebriated to an unspecified area below the T-shirt-wearer’s belt.

Of course, raunchy T-shirts are an equal-opportunity offender at New Village, where you can pick up both “15 Reasons Why a Beer is Better than a Woman” (a beer doesn’t get jealous when you pick up another beer) AND “15 Reasons Why a Cucumber is Better than a Man.” (You don’t need to wait until half time to talk to your cucumber.)

Offensive? On every level! But they make perfect gifts. So why not send an “inappropriate” T-shirt to P.C. Penney Chairman and CEO James Oesterreicher at the company headquarters: 6501 Legacy Drive, Plano, TX 75024-3698.